50% More Civil War In Africa by 2030... Thanks to Climate Change

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:02:00 GMT

image: Future Atlas via flickr. I'm sure you've heard estimates someone say how civil strife is likely to increase because of climate change. It's an oft-cited notion, but until now the linkages hadn't really been examined in a systematic, causal way. A multi-university team of researchers has now determined that in the case of sub-Saharan Africa climate change could increase the likelihood of civil war by more than 50%:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Dangerous, Potentially-Irreversible Climate Change Happening Faster Than Scientists Thought

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:20:00 GMT

photo: Loco085 via flickr. A lot's happened with climate change science since the last IPCC report. With the general consensus (hacked CRU email non-revelation brouhaha aside) being that things are happening much faster than we expected and that the uncertainty regarding human causes being over whether it 90% certainty or 99% certainty more than anything else. With the COP15 conference just two weeks away a group of UK scientists has taken the time to distill the current state of climate change for us. The picture is clear and stark:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

PETA Ad Tells the Truth About Factory Farmed Turkey - But NBC Refuses to Run It

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:36:00 GMT

Ever the any publicity is good publicity mongers, PETA created this ad and intended to run in on NBC during the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. NBC wanted to stats to back up the claims about conditions in factory farms, which were answered by this opinion piece in the New York Times. NBC decided "this commercial does not meet NBC Universal standards" and declined to run it. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Electricity Out Of The Blue - World's First Osmotic Power Plant Opens in Norway

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:55:00 GMT

all images: Statkraft If you haven't heard of osmotic power, you're very much forgiven. Though Norway's Statkraft has been researching the technology -- which generates power by exploiting the hydrostatic pressure created when fresh water passes through a special membrane into salt water -- since 1997, only now has the world's first osmotic power plant prototype been opened: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The TH Interview: Jeremy Jones - Founder of Protect Our Winters

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:45:00 GMT

When you've spent the better part of two decades out in the backcountry riding some of the toughest lines in snowboarding and developing a deep desire to protect mountain environments, global warming is undeniably a pressing and personal concern. When you're Jeremy Jones how do go about transforming that concern into action? You start by founding Protect Our Winters, a non-profit dedicated to uniting the winter sports community:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Goodbye Cruel World - Ants Save Mates from Danger & Macaque Grandmas Nurse Their Grandchildren

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:34:00 GMT

Sometimes nature isn't so harsh and here are two stories as example: BBC News reports that two grandmother macaques have been observed nursing and caring for their grandchildren, the first time such caring behavior has been unambiguously documented; on a much smaller scale, LiveScience tells us that new research shows that ants will save nestmates from danger:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

East Antarctic Ice Loss Accelerating Since 2006 - 'Large Impact' on Future Sea Level Rise Possible

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 10:56:00 GMT

photo: Eli Duke via flickr. With all the focus on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet melting, we could always take a small bit of comfort in knowing that the eastern part of the continent was comparatively stable. New research published in Nature Geoscience shows that comfort was misplaced: From 2002-2009 East Antarctica has been losing 5-109 gigatonnes of ice annually. And from 2006 that rate has been increasing:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

So How Much Agricultural Land Will We Need to Keep Global Aviation Aloft with Biofuels?

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 09:30:00 GMT

photo: Ed Lushcei via flickr. With a continuing stream of announcements regarding the aviation industry's drive to keep on flying while being a bit greener about it -- KLM is making the first aviation biofuel test flight with passengers today -- TreeHugger wondered how much land will be required to power the global aviation industry with biofuels. We did some quick calculations and this is what we found out:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Split Carbon Costs of Deforestation Between Producers & Consumers to Slow Felling Forests

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 15:43:00 GMT

It's probably no great secret to TreeHugger readers at this point that part of the reason carbon emissions in developing nations are rapidly rising is partially because manufacturing of goods for export to the developed world. In fact in China at least one-third of total emissions and about 50% of emissions growth in recent years is directly tied to goods consumer in Europe and the United States. So when it comes to counting those emissions, shouldn't the national burden be split up differently? The idea's not novel, but a new paper in Environmental Research Letters (via Mongabay) brings the issue to the fore. The report authors use the example of Brazil, making the point that Brazil is the world's foremost exporter of both beef and soybeans -- both contributing to varying degrees to the nation's ongoing (if slowing) deforestation -- but the countries which consume these goods don't pay anything for the environmental damage, loss of biodiversity, and soaring carbon emissions caused when agriculture replaces rainforests. ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

$36 Billion Rainforest Protection Plan Agreed to by 35 Nations - Now Who Will Pay For It...?

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:11:00 GMT

photo: flickrfavorites. A group of 35 nations have agreed to a plan that aims to reduce global deforestation by 25% by 2015, The Guardian reports. The price tag for it all could run as high as $36 billion over the next five years. Now who will pay for it all?... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Rice Husks & Biomass Gasification Provide Power for Rural Indians

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:55:00 GMT

Rice = food and electricity at the same time... photo: ya po guille via flickr. One solution for getting clean electricity to the 440-some million people in rural India who currently don't have grid power (or any power...) is to build wind farms, solar power plants, or use some decentralized but still tech-heavy option such as solar panels. And then there's rice husks and biomass gasification. Not a new technology, but one the Economic Times reports Husk Power Systems is taking advantage of to transform agricultural waste into power:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Melting Arctic Sea Ice Diluting Surface Water - Threatens Shellfish, Entire Polar Food Chain

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:44:00 GMT

photo: Wikipedia. Here's a not so comforting discovery: A new paper in Science magazine says that Arctic sea ice melting is starting to dilute surface waters and threatening the tiny shellfish called pteropods that are the base of the Arctic food chain. Those small swimming snails get eaten by fish, which in turn get eaten by polar bears and seals. Yeah, not so good:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Why New Renewable Energy Records Don't Mean a Thing, Unless We Also Reduce Overall Demand

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 17:09:00 GMT

photo: Chauncey Davis via flickr. Remember how last week Spain was touting a new wind power record, more than 50% of demand for part of the day on a Sunday morning? A pretty great thing, right? Not really, says the folks over at Low-tech Magazine. Without actually reducing overall energy demand, just adding more renewable energy (and touting absurdist records like the top energy source for a three hour period in a day) won't get us anywhere. It's a good point:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Finally Truth In Oil Company Advertising! Enough Energy to Melt That Glacier

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:27:00 GMT

From a 1962 edition of Life Magazine available on Google Books... We were a bit late in picking up on this one, but it's really worth passing on anyway. So credit where credit is due: Grist had it first, then Climate Progress, and so on. The text starts:

The giant glacier has remained unmelted for centuries. Yet the petroleum energy Humble [which merged with Standard Oil, later Exxon...] supplies -- if converted into heat -- could melt it at the rate of 80 tons each second. ... ...

... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Indonesia Suspends Controversial Paper Company's License to Review Environmental Record

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:52:00 GMT

The Kampar Peninsula is the last large intact area of pear swamp forest in Riau, Indonesia with some of the deepest peat (read: most stored carbon). Photo: Greenpeace. Indonesia may have deported a total of thirteen activists and two journalists over deforestation in the past week (boo!) but it also just suspended the license of Asia Pacific Resources International Limited to review the company's permits (yay!). APRIL has been targeted by Greenpeace over conversion of rainforest to plantations:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Indonesia Scores One For Press Repression & Environmental Destruction - Reporters, Activists Deported

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:19:00 GMT

The sort of destruction trying to be prevented... photo: Greenpeace. Seems the government of Indonesia didn't much like Greenpeace activists trying to disrupt the continued destruction of rainforest for plantation agriculture. Nor did they appreciate foreign journalists documenting the situation. On Monday two non-Indonesian activists, as well as an Indian and an Italian journalist were deported from the country:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Climate Change-Induced Drought Causing Crop Failure, Livestock Problems in Indian Himalayas

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:40:00 GMT

Less precipitation falling, and when it comes it falls in a shorter period of time... photo: Harry via flickr. Compared to the focus on Arctic and Antarctic ice melting, glacial retreat and climate change in the Himalaya doesn't quite get the same coverage. Which, as a new survey by Indian NGO Navdanya shows, is a shame as the effects of global warming on the region are already directly impacting the lives of people who did nothing to create the problem:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Confirmed: Oceans Absorbing Less CO2 - First Year-by-Year Study Goes Back to 1765

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:34:00 GMT

photo: Shayne Kaye via flickr. The first year-by-year study of the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the world's oceans since the industrial revolution confirms a disturbing trend: Oceans are struggling to keep up with all the carbon humans are spewing into the atmosphere, with the proportion of emissions absorbed declining as much as 10% since 2000. The study, led by Samar Khatiwala from the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University, has been published in the latest edition of Nature, but this is the gist of it: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Let's Give Out Free Condoms to Stop Climate Change... Maybe Not as Daft As It Seems

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 13:45:00 GMT

"They're hope flavored"...photo: Matthew McDermott Here's the latest salvo in the ongoing population growth-climate change debate: The latest UN Population Fund report says that an important component in combatting climate change is limiting population growth. Explicitly stating that limits on number of children should not be considered, the report instead says improving women's access to family planning services and contraceptives, and assuring that low income is no barrier to access, is crucial:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Sewage-to-Drinking Water System Readied for Luxury Singapore Resort Island

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:42:00 GMT

photo: Shahram Sharif via flickr. Now this is extreme water recycling: Dallas, Texas-based Global Water Group has installed its first sewage-to-drinking water system on the Singaporean island of Pulau Seringat, Greentech Media reports. Originally developed for military applications, similar systems have been deployed on oil rigs and for special events, this system will process 2,500 gallons of wastewater a day into potable water for luxury hotel guests:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Gangsters Go Green! Mafia Tied to Fraudulent Italian Wind Farms - Madagascar 'Timber Mafia' Thriving

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:41:00 GMT

photo: Chiara Marra via flickr. There have been an increasing number of stories coming to light detailing how organized crime syndicates around the world have been getting their dirty little fingers into the green world. The latest: 1) Italian police have arrested two businessmen on fraud charges, linking them with Mafia in wind farm permit fixing schemes; and 2) The government of Madagascar (such as it is) appears to be tied in with what's being called a 'timber mafia', profiting from illegal wood sales largely sent to China: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

CO2 Emissions Rose 2% in 2008, Despite Recession - We're On Target for 6C Temperature Rise

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:40:00 GMT

photo: Steve via flickr. Here are two sobering thoughts: 1) New research shows that despite last year's global recession total CO2 emissions still climbed 2% in 2008; and, 2) the Global Carbon Project adds, without strong action in Copenhagen we won't be able to stabilize temperatures in "a smooth and organized way" and that its five or six degrees Celsius warming that we're in for: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The (Mostly) Non-Wonky COP15 Crib Sheet - What Are The Sides? What's Still Being Debated?

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 15:02:00 GMT

The power of the people, a strong civil society and activist voice is crucial in ensuring strong climate action. Get out there... photo: Peter Blanchard via flickr. If you're late arriving to the COP15 party, and need to get caught up on what the political fuss is about, there's still time to get your head straight: The folks over at the International Institute for Environment and Development have just released a guide to the Copenhagen climate change summit. It's aimed at perhaps a slightly wonkier level than perhaps needed to just follow the action, so I'll distill it down a bit, trying to keep the acronyms to a minimum:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Kashmir Wildlife Flourishes as People Scared Out of Forests by Insurgency, Hunters Give Over Guns

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:41:00 GMT

photo: Brian Scott via flickr. Most of the time war and civil turmoil means bad news for wildlife and the environment -- witness what's happened recently in Madagascar -- but apparently the now decades-long, on again/off again conflict in Kashmir has helped wildlife flourished. That's the word from the Economic Times:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Mangroves & Coastal Wetlands Store 50 Times More Carbon Than Tropical Forests by Area

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:35:00 GMT

Mangrove photo: Ken Funakoshi via flickr. More and more research has been coming out recently on how much carbon is stored in different ecosystems. The latest is from an IUCN report (via Mongabay) which shows that coastal habitats store up to 50 times more carbon in their soils by area than tropical forests, and ten more than temperate forests too:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

The TH Interview: Frances Beinecke, President of Natural Resources Defense Council

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:30:00 GMT

No matter if you're a climate activist or a firm believer in the political process, there's no getting around that the negotiations leading up to next month's COP15 conference have been tough of late. The need to keep pushing for strong and immediate climate action has never been greater -- something which NRDC President Frances Beinecke's just-released book Clean Energy, Common Sense does compellingly -- so, when over the weekend it was de facto officially announced that Copenhagen will just produce a framework for future binding action it seemed the perfect entree for the latest TreeHugger interview:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

US Considers Scaled-Back Climate Deal - Congressional Inaction Holds Up Global Commitment

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:07:00 GMT

photo: blakeimeson via flickr. I have to admit there are some days when I have trouble holding back my frustration following the painful progress of the climate change negotiations, and this is one of those times. The Washington Post reports that the Obama administration is looking at endorsing a short-term climate pact and pushing off stronger action until next year. Essentially because Congress can't get off its delaying, half-measured haunches, pull its head out of the the political sand, and do what science says is required to, well, not destroy the climate for us and future generations:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

10 Points to Remember for a Successful COP15 Agreement

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:47:00 GMT

photo: Aidan Jones via flickr. With all the conflicting and changing national pledges on the table for COP15, it's very easy for someone not closely following this to lose sight of what really needs to happen. In case you one of those people that can't rattle off the components of a WWF has a quick ten-point overview that's worthwhile checking out: ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

US Record High Temperatures Double Record Lows Over Past Decade

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:16:00 GMT

photo: Mr. T in DC via flickr. Striking one against the 'it's so cold outside that global warming must be a myth' crowd comes this next piece, via Science Codex. Research to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters shows that over the past decade the number of record hot days has been double the number of record cold days:... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Good News/Bad News - Amazon Deforestation Reaches Record Low, But Greenland Ice Melt Accelerating

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 09:43:00 GMT

photo: kaet44 via flickr. A mixed bag in climate change news this morning: Satellite imagery reveals that Amazon deforestation has dropped to the lowest rate since Brazil began monitoring efforts, President Inacio Lula da Silva announced yesterday afternoon. Woo hoo! But a new article in the journal Science shows that the Greenland Ice Sheet is losing mass an accelerating rate. D'oh! ... Read the full story on TreeHugger

Recent Posts by TreeHugger's Matthew McDermott, New York, NY